Romance And
by bilaterus
Summary: Phineas has gone into overdrive trying to please Isabella. But why? Meanwhile, Doof has built a Love-Inator... Coincidence? Be prepared for a refreshing take on the typical kind of fluffy Phinbella story, with a good helping of craziness and some pleasant surprises.
1. Pancakes

**I venture into the world of fluff... **

**I hope you enjoy my spin on things :)**

* * *

"_Beautiful, kind and gentle, and loving and softness and sweetness and candy and gum..."_

With her eyes still shut tight, Isabella stirred happily in her bed, still suspended between slumber and consciousness.

"_Peppermint and pink flowers, and bunnies and happy songs that we can all hum..."_

"Oh Phineas..." she sighed dreamily, as she awakened and opened her eyes. "You're so... eek!"

To her great surprise, the one serenading her from the bedside was a robot she'd never seen before. She pulled up the covers defensively as she edged away from it.

"Hello Isabella!" it said cheerfully, oblivious to her shock. "I'm Steve!"

Isabella stared at Steve a little more closely. The robot was was shiny and metallic, short and squarely built, with a large chest. It had a blocky robotic head, with robotic facial features that imitated a human's, including a 'mouth' that flashed when he talked. It had a permanent smiling expression, a toothy, infectiously cheerful grin.

Well, he certainly sounded innocent enough. In fact, he sounded almost like Phineas. And he did_ look_ like a Steve. Isabella decided that the robot was harmless.

"Hi Steve!" she smiled, sitting up in her bed. There was a moment of silence.

"So, er, whatcha dooin'? You know, in my room?"

"Oh, Phineas sent me, miss!" Steve responded. "He told me to gently wake you from your sleep with sweet music!"

Isabella's heart skipped a beat. "He did?" she asked, melting on her bed where she sat.

"Yes. He also told me to tell you that he 'loves you more than there are stars in the sky or particles in an army of flesh-eating space aliens,' and that I am to serve you breakfast in bed!"

"Wait wait wait... Phineas really said that? I don't believe it!" She shook her head vigorously in denial. "This is just so sweet and romantic, this whole breakfast in bed can't be real!"

"I really do have your breakfast here, miss!" Steve replied, opening his chest and handing her the plate of warm pancakes from inside.

_It really can't be real- mm, strawberry and golden syrup. _It smelled delicious; Isabella couldn't help but drool, her suspicion about Phineas' serendipitous love being put aside for the moment. She picked up the fork and knife and slowly shovelled a big bite into her mouth.

A moment passed. "Ok, these are the best pancakes I've ever eaten," she admitted through a mouth full of food. "But this doesn't mean it's not still a dream!"

"I can pinch you if you want to find out," Steve offered, leaning towards her, his mechanical hand poised to pinch her.

"No no, I'm good," Isabella said hastily.

"Don't worry. A dream episode would be terribly lazy writing!" he reassured her. "I don't believe bilaterus will do that."

"Huh?"

"I've also been instructed to break the 4th wall where possible! Enjoy your breakfast!"

Steve then resumed playing the Incidentals' soundtrack. Isabella finished her mouthful and took another, trying to think of _some _explanation as to why Phineas suddenly loved her. Her mind wandered to Phineas and Ferb's backyard...

"_Perhaps it was for the best. Who knows what sacred laws we may have transgressed in our innocent yet ambitious undertaking?"_

_"Yeah. Still, it's pretty weird that our Danville Tower of Babel spontaneously turned into compost of all things."_

_It was the previous evening. The gang had once again spent their day on a thrilling and satisfying once in a lifetime project in the Flynn-Fletcher backyard. And, as inexplicably as ever, the entire day's fun had been cleared away in an instant. It meant there was no cleanup to do (which was certainly a good thing - cleanup is always the worst part of any project) but it also meant that nothing would last except the memories. _

_"It really is a shame," Isabella said wistfully. "It would've been something to show our kids one day..."_

_"Oh man, can you imagine Dinner Bell's kids?" Buford said. "They would be like, 'Ooh look at us! We can do the impossible every day!'"_

_His impersonation received an enthusiastic applause from the gang._

_"That is uncanny!"_

_"Perfect!"_

_"It's as if they were here!"_

_"Though they better take the shape of their heads after their mother," Buford continued, smirking. "Unless she's ugly."_

_"Buford!" Isabella scolded, visibly annoyed by the comment. _

"_Anyway, it has been enjoyable but I have a wonderful night of math ahead of me," Baljeet said, stretching out of tiredness. "Take care, my friends!" _

"_Yeah I better go too," Buford said. "I've got the whole night to bully a nerd that wants to do math!"_

_He looked at Baljeet menacingly, who cringed as they started to leave the backyard. Isabella followed behind them. _

"_See you guys tomorrow!" Phineas called out cheerfully, waving goodbye to them as they left. _

"_Bye Phineas," Isabella said sweetly, closing the backyard gate as they parted ways. "Can't wait to see you next time."_

That had been their entire interaction that evening. Isabella frowned, trying to pinpoint what exactly must have tipped Phineas off. Perhaps it was all the talk about children? But such hints had gone over Phineas's head before (no joke intended). Perhaps it was that last comment of hers? Maybe it took all of the hints together to get him to finally realise?

Or perhaps Phineas's feelings had, spontaneously or by some mysterious force, arose in him by themselves, and because he wasn't sure if Isabella reciprocated he was trying to prove his love for her. Wouldn't that be wonderful! Then she could confess her feelings and they could be together forever...

"Would you like some coffee, miss?" Steve asked abruptly, oblivious to the train of thought he had just disrupted. Isabella blinked - she had absent-mindedly finished the pancakes while deep in thought about Phineas's behaviour and what exactly she should do about it.

"Oh, no thanks, Steve, I'm good," Isabella said brightly. She had decided: it'd be better not to look a gift horse in the mouth - she would make the most of the pampering Phineas had in mind for her. She would not worry about it at all, instead choosing to simply relax and enjoy her wonderful dream come true. After all Phineas had declared he loved her! She had wanted nothing else since forever! And it was barely the morning, but he had made her feel special already, and who knew what he still had in store?

_Yes,_ Isabella decided_. Today will be a special day, filled with romance and... _

_Hey, where's Pinky?_

* * *

As it happens, Pinky's location at that time was thoroughly uninteresting. Fortunately, some other certain brothers in the neighbourhood were wondering where their pet was too in the same instance, and the actions of the platypus of theirs are far more worthy of mention.

In fact, Perry was already on his way to Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated. The briefing that morning had been uneventful. Monogram and Carl had been their usual quirky selves, and his only clue about Doof's scheme was that the evil scientist had been up most of the night working on it.

"Ah, Perry the Platypus, how understandable that you've come to foil my evil scheme," Doofenshmirtz grinned evilly, as Perry dropped in through the open window. "And by understandable I mean... completely standable!"

A push of a button later, Perry was trapped under a heavy blanket that was seemingly stuck to the ground, leaving only Perry's head poking out.

Doof continued to ramble conversationally as Perry stared fiercely at him. "And I really do mean 'standable' this time. Do you know how nice it is to have you over every day? It's a nice little thing we have, isn't it? An understanding, that's what we've got.

"Thanks for coming in through the _open_ window this time, by the way. Norm tried to clean up the broken glass from last time and... well, you know what he's like, Perry the Platypus."

"I did clean up the mess, sir!" Norm piped.

"Yeah, after starting a fire!" Doofenshmirtz replied angrily. "And there wasn't even any flammable material in the room, what's up with that! Now go stand over there!"

Norm obediently trotted off to face the corner. "Is this a new kind of game, sir?" he asked happily.

Doof ignored him and bent down to face Perry the Platypus. "You may be looking around for my evil scheme. Well guess what, Perry the Platypus? There is no scheme today! You know why? Because I am in _love_!"

Perry looked at him incredulously.

"She's wonderful!" Doofenshmirtz exclaimed. "I met her when I went down to the store after yesterday's Compost-Inator incident - I'm sure you still remember that, Perry the Platypus - and when we both reached for the same pack of garlic I knew she was the one!"

He was clutching the remote in his hand and sighing dreamily when Perry chattered, interrupting Doof's thoughts.

"What? You think that because my last romantic ventures have all ended in disaster it means this one will be ruined too? Well guess what! She's coming over to visit again today! How do you like that, Perry the Doubtapus?"

Perry continued to stare at him.

"Don't give me that look, Perry the Platypus," Doof huffed, turning away from his nemesis in defiance. "i know she likes me, you see. And, you know, to make _sure _she loves me, when she comes over today I'll zap her with my Love-Inator."

_Doofenshmirtz was high on coffee last night_, Perry concluded. The Love-Inator seemed to be an amalgamation of cliche romantic symbols. It was pink and fluffy, with hearts of different sizes and shades embellishing it all over. Even at its base, there were boxes of chocolates and flowers. The device was directly next to and was aiming towards the seat of the sofa next to it.

"Romantic, isn't it?" Doofenshmirtz said, patting it happily. "And guess what? It has no self-destruct button, and it can also run on batteries! That means you can't foil me today, Perry the Platypus!"

And as the doorbell rang and Doofenshmirtz exclaimed "Oh look, she's here!", Perry sighed and wondered when this kind of day became normal to him... and how interested he was in seeing them through.

_This ought to be good._

* * *

******Who is Doof's date? **How does Phineas know about Isabella's love? What will he do? Where is the rest of the title? Why am I asking all these questions? 

**The craziness really picks up next chapter. Take care :)**


	2. Tea

**Thanks for all the great responses to Chapter 1! It makes it harder to say that this next chapter is going to be half as long...**

**I'm going on a (religious) trip for 3 weeks, and I decided I should post this half of the chapter rather than nothing. It's half of the crazy part of the fic. I hope you enjoy it anyway and excuse the lack of content in the update...**

**But hey! Blythe and I finished another chapter of 4th Wall too! If somehow this chapter isn't crazy enough for you, there's more over there... **

**On with the fic. **

* * *

Not too long after breakfast, Isabella was out of the door and on her way to Phineas and Ferb's backyard. She would've been out sooner had she not, because of her blissful and daydreaming frame of mind, put her clothes on backwards (twice in a row). As she walked, Steve accompanied her, enthusiastically commenting on everything they passed in the way only a newly created sentient robot would. It might have started to be annoying to anyone else but Isabella's mood was so bright she simply shared in his enthusiasm as they walked over to the backyard, expecting to spend the day with Phineas from there.

But he was nowhere to be seen. There was, curiously, only Ferb and Baljeet, and they seemed to have been discussing something.

"You are right," Baljeet admitted. He facepalmed in frustration. "I cannot believe I forgot to consider the eigenspace of the differential equations!"

Isabella's face fell at the lack of bright-eyed red-headed inventors, but it was only for a moment. "Hey guys! Er, where's Phineas?"

"Where is he? Where is he?" Baljeet exclaimed. "I will tell you exactly where he is. He is haunting my every waking moment!"

"Excuse me?" Isabella said, taken aback by his reaction.

He sighed. "I am sorry Isabella. It is just that Phineas kept me up all night having me check his math while he was inventing. The result is that I am now making amateur mistakes on trivial problems in the middle of the day! What will my fellow online math buddies think? They will assume I have lost my touch! They can be very angry and hurtful people you know..."

"Phineas was up all night inventing things? For me? How romantic," Isabella sighed dreamily.

"Don't worry Baljeet," Steve said brightly. "If you want a friend to play with, I'm right here!"

"What I want is a calculator and some relaxing math problems to take my mind off things!"

"Sure thing!"

At that, Steve transformed into an entire desk, complete with chair, calculator and screen with math problems. Baljeet, squealing a little girlishly in happiness, rushed over and started tapping away at the keyboard, sighing contentedly.

There was an awkward pause as Isabella and Ferb were left. Isabella cleared her throat slightly. "So...?"

Ferb pointed past her. Isabella turned and gasped - there at the gate was Phineas himself atop a brightly coloured unicorn and smiling familiarly. He looked as he usually did, no more special than normal.

Isabella still swooned. He looks so heroic atop that - oh my gosh, is that a real unicorn? It's so pink and majestic! And Phineas's red hair seems to be as long and flowing as ever in the gentle wind, his head shining brightly against the background, a chorus of angels heralding his arrival. He seems to be absolutely shimmering in the light...

Wait-

"Hi-Isabella-whatcha-dooin'?" Phineas said, jumping off the unicorn and rushing up to hug her.

"Oh Phineas..." Isabella sighed happily, melting once again in his arms. "Wait, why are you so shaking so much?"

Phineas spoke rapidly. "Oh-I'm-just-a-little-jittery-from-all-the-coffee- I-drank-last-night-to-stay-awake!"

"Er, ok?" Isabella managed before Phineas continued on.

"Anyway-it's-good-you're-here-I've-got-some-tokens -of-my-undying-love-for-you-did-I-mention-I-love-y ou-more-than-particles-in-an-army-of-flesh-eating- space-aliens?"

"Oh, er, Steve mentioned it, I think-"

"Great-wait-right-here-Isabella!"

With that, Phineas rushed off in a cloud of smoke. By the time the dust settled he was back, with a curious assortment of strange items piled up and shaking slightly in his jittery hands. He dumped the stuff on the floor and grabbed a necklace from the pile. It was heart-shaped, with the letters P and I engraved upon it, and it seemed to be constantly shining. It was the most beautiful thing Isabella had ever seen.

"This-necklace-was-made-from-a-rare-sapphire-and-I 've-designed-it-so-that-it-sparkles-whenever-I-thi nk-about-you!"

"Oh Phineas!" Isabella squealed in delight. "This is the most romantic thing-"

"And-you've-met-Steve-who-is-designed-to-make-you- and-everyone-around-him-happy -" he gestured briefly towards Steve before continuing - "And-I-travelled-to-another-dimension-to-find-you- this-unicorn-that-doesn't-exist!"

"I told you that real unicorns are pink!" Baljeet said triumphantly from over at his Steve-desk.

"Wow, I've always wanted-"

"And-I-don't-want-anything-to-happen-to-you-so-I-d esigned-a-bunch-of-stuff-for-your-safety!"

"Wha-?" Isabella blinked - in a flash, Phineas had strapped some kind of green belt to her, along with some kind of flashing bracelet, and he was just securing a strange heavy helmet to her head.

"The-belt-is-a-portable-tiger-excluder-in-case-the -one-at-City-Hall-runs-out-of-power-and-the-bracel et-is-linked-to-a-satellite-which-will-ward-off-an ything-that-attacks-you!"

"And... and the helmet?" she asked, fearing the answer.

"It's-a-temporal-anomaly-detector-which-will-prote ct-you-against-evil-time-travelling-animals-isn't- that-great-it's-great-isn't-it?"

"Right." Isabella shook her head, trying to compose herself. "So Phineas, now that you're here, can we spend some quality time-"

"Sorry-Isabella-but-I'm-still-working-on-an-awesom e-romantic-theme-park-ride-cya-later!" And with that Phineas disappeared, as fast as he had come, leaving a silence punctuated only by the sound of Baljeet tapping away on the keyboard.

"That's why I'm more of a tea person," Ferb commented at last.

Then Isabella sighed. Her hand went to the sapphire necklace. "At least he left me this." It still sparkled in her hand. "He's thinking about me, I guess..."

Ferb put his hand on her shoulder in sympathy. Then someone put their hand on Ferb's shoulder.

"C'mon-Ferb-let's-go-build-that-theme-park-ride-li ke-we-planned!"

Isabella jumped - Phineas appearing like that had surprised her. "W-wait! Can I come build it with you guys?"

"Sorry-Isabella-what-if-something-were-to-happen-t o-you-it's-not-safe-at-all-please-stay-here-where- it's-safe-ok-bye!"

He rushed out once again. Ferb let out a barely audible sigh and followed him out of the backyard, leaving Isabella standing alone with the unicorn. Which burped loudly.

"Well, I guess we'll always have burping pink unicorns..."

* * *

**Response to Platyman: Oh you and your detailed reviews! I'm glad you like it, your reviews really mean a lot, you know. Make an account at least, so we can chat by PM and you can follow stories and stuff!  
Also, 'mini-Norm' is exactly what I'm going for with Steve, I'm glad you picked up on that.**

**Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, it really means a bunch to me :D I believe I responded to most by PM, so all that's left is, well, see ya in a few weeks I guess. (I will probably be able to answer PMs sporadically in the time, but you get the idea). **


	3. Caroline

**It's been a while, hasn't it? This chapter has some more craziness as well as Doof's mysterious date, who I decided to put a bit more effort into that I had originally planned. **

**You may end up reading this chapter twice.**

Doof's date had arrived.

"Relax Perry the Platypus," Doof said, sensing Perry's squirm under the blanket trap and trying to preserve his secret identity. "I've already told her all about the whole nemesis thing we have. She's evilly inclined, you know? Oh, I'm so excited!"

He approached the door and laid his hand on the handle, pausing. "Well, here goes nothing," he said nervously, as he opened the door to reveal his date.

Perry admitted he had been skeptical; all of Doof's dates that Perry had met or heard about were, put bluntly, crazy. Usually something abnormal jumped out about them immediately. But the most abnormal thing about this woman was how normal she looked - her hair wasn't a crazy shade of pink, she wasn't sporting a maniacal grin or stern frown, and she wasn't wearing a 'whales are the no.1 mammals!' shirt. Instead, she wore a neat and simple yet striking dress, which complemented her dark, olive-green hair. She smiled warmly, as if she was looking forward to the night.

Could Doof have really done it? Perry wondered in amazement. Could he have really found someone sane? Maybe they have a chance together...

"Oh, er, hello Caroline," Doof said nervously, scratching the back of his neck and sweating almost profusely where he stood. "Did, er, did it hurt when you fell from heaven onto your face?"

"Oh Heinz, are you as evil as you are charming?" she giggled in reply, much to Perry's surprise. She spoke with a clear, refined British accent, and her response to Doof's clumsy compliment put him at ease.

"Do come in! Let me show you around," Doof said happily. "Here is my couch and TV, over there is the kitchen, and that's my nemesis, Perry the Platypus, right over there, trapped under that heavy blanket. Come to think about it, I told you about him yesterday but I actually don't know that much about him! He's very secretive..."

"Well, platypuses are the only mammals to lay eggs," Caroline said, smiling playfully as they both looked for a moment at a very vexed Perry the Platypus.

"Huh, you learn something new every day!" Doof exclaimed happily. "I mean, I should really know, as I actually turned myself into a platypus once. I've been all sorts of things, actually. One time I was a cursed werecow, and another time I was actually fused with Norm! I still get chills from that sometimes you know..."

Doof continued to ramble on passionately about all sorts of things. Caroline listened intently, clearly loving hearing about his experiences, ideas and rants with genuine interest and without seeming bored in the least. Perry's sense of discomfort, both physically and emotionally, deepened. He felt as if he was being ignored, almost replaced... and he was starting to sweat, because it was getting quite hot in the trap.

And there was something familiar about Caroline's silent presence that Perry couldn't quite place.

* * *

Isabella was still stunned by Phineas's earlier performance. She stood, alone and awkward, in the middle of the backyard, with only one question resonating in her mind: What just happened?

She tried to collect herself and figure things out. It had happened all so fast...let's see, he had come rushing in, admitted he loved her, given her a assortment of 'gifts', and then he had left to do even more for her. It was a dream come true, and yet Isabella only felt numbness.

The strange helmet was a little too big for her head and she pushed it up, to keep it out of her eyes. What was its function? Protect against time-travelling assailants, or something? The tiger excluder belt was fairly heavy, too. Both things were so thoughtful, so obscure, so Phineas. The satellite bracelet seemed a little more useful, but Isabella had no idea how it worked. It might turn hazards into cheese or send any dangers nearby to another dimension. It was touching that Phineas had done all of this for her, yet she found herself longing for nothing more than his presence.

The unicorn had been strolling around contentedly in the back yard and came up to her, nuzzling her gently with its head. She stroked it absent-mindedly, imagining she was with Phineas. She could almost see him rushing around, focused, busily turning another fantastic idea into reality. And while the theme park ride he was constructing now was entirely for her, she came to realise how much she missed being part of that constructive experience.

Sighing, Isabella turned over in her hand the sapphire necklace that Phineas had given her. It still glowed, but not as brightly as before, although every now and then it'd shine brilliantly for a little while. Isabella supposed he was focusing mainly on the project, but would end up daydreaming about her from time to time.

She was with Phineas in his thoughts, but not in presence. She was his beloved, but she didn't know why. She was living the dream, but it was all too bittersweet...

"Hey girly. Nice hat."

Isabella was taken entirely by surprised, her thought process disrupted. "Buford?"

"What's this, a unicorn? Lame," he said, shoving it roughly. The unicorn looked at him in annoyance and grunted as if to say hey, watch it!

"Buford..."

"Oh, and check out this monkey I found on the way here. Oh, but don't worry. I'm pretty sure it's not one of those evil time-travelling ones."

Isabella turned to see the monkey accompanying him. She backed away quickly; jt had a wild, menacing expression and it immediately started running around, screeching loudly and and throwing banana peels at everyone and everything in the back yard. It chased Baljeet around, who screamed girlishly, and it scratched savagely at Steve who had offered it a hug. The monkey then started recklessly harassing the unicorn, and a fight erupted between the two animals.

"Buford!"

"Ok, I guess it might be evil..."

Then suddenly Isabella's hat started beeping loudly. "TEMPORAL ANOMALY DETECTED. ELIMINATE! ELIMINATE!" It fired a beam violently at the monkey, causing Isabella to stumble backwards from the recoil, and the monkey was engulfed in a blue light. Everyone shielded their eyes as the monkey struggled and the light became intense.

With a final screech, it vanished in the flash of light, sent back to its own place in space or time. Slowly, the gang uncovered their eyes, staring cautiously at the slightly burnt patch of grass where the monkey was before.

"Is it safe?" Baljeet asked nervously.

"It seems so!" replied Steve, cheery despite being covered in banana peels and having been attacked by the rogue animal.

Isabella stood up, a little shakily. "Well that was... unusual."

They turned to see Buford clutching a leg of the unicorn tightly, in fear. It was clearly annoyed, but then it grinned maliciously and kicked Buford squarely, sending the bully staggering towards Baljeet and Steve.

"This cannot end well!" Steve said. There was a crash as the momentum sent them all tumbling towards Isabella.

Then her bracelet started beeping loudly, with a voice calling out, "DANGER DETECTED! INITIATING DEFENSIVE PROTOCOLS!" and individual beams from the sky struck everyone in the back yard.

By the time the dust had settled, Isabella, Steve, Buford, Baljeet and the unicorn were all in individual spherical, resilient, plasticy bubbles that floated slightly above the ground. Isabella sighed.

"Well, at least there aren't any tigers around."

* * *

Doof was in the middle of explaining how he got his first titanium arm when he facepalmed suddenly.

"Ugh, dummkopf! Let me get you a refreshing glass of water, Caroline, you must be parched! Come with me, Perry the Platypus," he added, pushing a button and freeing Perry from the trap. Surprised, Perry followed him into the kitchen, where they were out of earshot.

"Oh, isn't she wonderful, Perry the Platypus?" he gushed. "I've never been so happy in my entire life! You know what? I'm not even going to use the Love-Inator! Today's evil scheme is cancelled!

"You should stick around though, Perry the Platypus, there'll be snacks and... what? don't give me that look, like staying here is a punishment! I have feelings too you know!"

A short while later, Doof re-entered the main room with a tray of drinks and snacks, accompanied by a Perry whose expression was that of a guest now, rather than an enemy. To their surprise, Caroline was kneeling in front of a panel of the Love-Inator, engrossed in fiddling with the wires and circuitry. Upon hearing them enter, she turned toward them.

"Were you... we're you taking a look at my Love-Inator?" Doof asked slowly, unsure as to what to expect.

"Do you know that it doesn't work?" she asked. It just fires a coloured beam of light that does nothing."

Doof was shocked. "Are you sure?"

"A diode was inverted and a transistor detached, causing the circuit to be incomplete and suboptimal," she explained, effortlessly detailing the technicalities. "It required an interface at a location which would unite the critical motherboards and lead to a fully functional and efficient Inator at the expense of a vulnerability of the added interface such that operating it triggers volatile reactions throughout the system."

Doof was speechless for a moment. "You... you fixed my Inator by adding a self-destruct button?"

"I have a little weakness for them," Caroline admitted shyly.

"Really? M-me too! Just ask Perry the Platypus, I simply can't do without self-destruct buttons on my Inators!" In his ecstasy he carelessly threw the tray behind him, drinks and all, and rushed over to kneel beside her and peer closer at the modifications. "And I had no idea you were so good with tools!"

"You're not too shabby yourself," she winked.

"I thought I was the only one... people say I'm crazy for them, but I mean c'mon, how can you not have one? And nobody understood... until now." He gazed lovingly into her eyes. "I'm so lucky I found you..."

She smiled and returned his gaze steadily. "We can make beautiful Inators together..."

"And to think, I was planning on using my Love-Inator on you, and it wouldn't even have worked! Man that would've been embarrassing!"

Everything froze.

Perry winced; that was a mistake. Caroline's face became impassive. She stood up wordlessly, and made for the door.

"W-wait! I-I didn't mean..." Doof stuttered desperately. "Don't leave!"

Caroline turned to him from the doorway. Her face was still flat, with a shadow of disappointment, hurt, betrayal.

"I can't stay with someone that didn't want to give me a chance."

And with that, she left, closing the door gently with a heart wrenching sense of finality, leaving Doof looking as if he had lost the entire world.

It had happened so suddenly. Perry looked at Doof, whose head was in his hands in despair, and Perry felt a strong twinge of sympathy for his nemesis. He walked over and laid a hand on his shoulder, chattering comfortably.

"Thank you, Perry the Platypus, but- but I think I want to be alone for a while..."

Perry nodded in understanding and headed to the door. As he was about to leave, a tear welled up in his eye as Doof wailed:

"I'll never forget you, Caroline Fletcher!"


	4. Fluff

**My goodness. Writing this chapter was like trying to get ink from a stone - get it? Writing? Ink?**

**Wait, who even hand-writes stories, in ink, any more?**

**Sheesh, it's a good thing making bad jokes isn't a crime. Maybe it should be. But then me and my whole family'd be in jail xD.**

**This is the final chapter. I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

Isabella and the gang had been trapped in the bubbles for a while, which had proven impervious to damage. The bubbles allowed sound through though, which meant Isabella had to put up with Buford arguing with the unicorn, Baljeet's complaints, and Steve's cheerful commentary, all of which were starting to grate on her already strained nerves.

Fortunately, Baljeet had some surprisingly potent hot sauce on his person, which was strong enough to disintegrate the bubbles. A few squirts later they were all free and Buford edged away from the unicorn apologetically. It stared back at him, as if it was saying _yeah, you better back away._

Baljeet was lamenting the loss of his entire bottle of hot sauce. "I cannot believe I went through the entire thing! It is supposed to last for months!"

"Why do you even got a bottle of that in the first place, nerd?" Buford asked.

"It goes very well with vegetable samosas."

"Pft. Lamest reason I ever heard!"

"Do you not yourself carry around obscure musical instruments?"

"That's different!"

"ALL OF YOU GET OUT!"

Their heads all turned to Isabella, whose entire day's events finally culminated in her snapping at them in rage. Her expression was of a terrifying fury, and everyone except Buford winced at the sight. "Hey girlie, it's not even your backyard!" he retorted.

She glared at him as if she was about to explode. Buford held his hands up defensively, a nervous smile on his face. "Alright! We're going, we're going!"

Isabella pointed towards the gate, her meaning clear. Buford made his way out and Baljeet followed him obediently, but stopped to console Isabella.

"I am sure everything will work out with you and Phineas," he said sympathetically, before he headed back home.

The unicorn neighed in satisfaction._ I bet you're glad those kids are gone right?_ But Isabella continued to point at the gate. Fine, the unicorn huffed in annoyance, and it trotted out to who knows where.

After they had left, Isabella sighed, her anger leaving her to be replaced by sadness. It had been a long day. Her hopes had been high at first, but then everything had just gone crazy so quickly!

Well, in all honesty, she could live with that. What really got her down was that she hasn't had a single moment of quality time with Phineas all day. Was it a lot to ask?

"Hello Isabella! Do you need cheering up?"

She jumped; Steve had taken her by surprise. "Oh, er, no thanks Steve. I'm fine," she managed.

"Ok then! I'll be inside the house, charging!"

The friendly robot had obliviously took her answer at face value. _Like inventor like invention, I guess_, Isabella figured. Steve wandered off into the house and left her alone in the backyard once more, thoughts still swirling in her mind.

"Hey Isabella."

Isabella turned abruptly. "Phineas? Back from building that theme park ride so soon?"

Phineas must have returned home to the backyard while Isabella was lost in thought. He looked a little worse for the wear. His hair was even scruffier than usual and his clothes looked a little messy, as if the day had taken its toll on him. "Actually, the whole day's been kind of a blur," he said shyly. "The last thing I remember is working on the water slide - which was going to be totally awesome by the way, it had rapids and a loop de loop and everything - and after that I remember being passed out on the floor with Ferb waking me up."

Isabella couldn't help but giggle at the image of Phineas hitting the wall after his caffeine high, being woken up by Ferb wafting his favourite wrench under his nose. "You know, too much coffee isn't healthy."

"Yeah," Phineas said, a smile creeping onto his face. "I think I hallucinated and saw a talking zebra. Remind me not to drink coffee when we get older."

"Maybe you should build an anti-caffeine satellite defense system," Isabella teased.

"Well I know what we're gonna do tomorrow!"

They made a few more jokes about the day's shenanigans and laughed for a while. Then they slipped into an uncomfortable silence. Isabella looked towards Phineas as he looked away from her and scratched his ear awkwardly. She knew this was her chance - her opportunity to probe Phineas about just how he realised what her feelings were for her and why he decided to reciprocate them. But, for some reason, she hesitated. I'm scared, she realised. I'm scared that it might not be real, that he doesn't really love me the way I've always wanted! What if it's just temporary, like the time he got turned all dull and boring?

Thankfully, Phineas spoke up first. "I'm... I'm sorry Isabella."

"For all the crazy backfired inventions?" she asked, scolding herself for not taking the opportunity but glad for the end of the awkward silence.

"Yeah. I mean, you really love me! I can't rest without thinking up things that'll make you happy, you deserve that much at least!"

"Oh Phineas..."

His voice was rising steadily in frustration with himself. "And I couldn't do it! Look what happened, you could've been hurt! I don't know what I'd do if something were to happen to you just after I've learned how you really feel about me!"

He paused and Isabella found her mind empty except for that one question. "How exactly did you realise it anyway?"

"Oh, remember last night when Buford made that remark about my future spouse? You got really annoyed, which meant you want us to get married one day."

Isabella was floored. After all of the obvious hints, all of the romantic moments they'd shared, all of the times they'd been through...

"You got that I've been madly in love with you for the whole summer... from that?"

"Well yeah. I mean, could you have been more obvious?"

It couldn't be true, surely.

"Are... are you sure it wasn't because of some weird ray from the sky?" she ventured.

"Actually it's funny you mention it. A strange ray hit Ferb and I late last night while we were out working, but it didn't do anything. It must've just been a colourful beam of light. Weird, huh?"

He turned his face away from her, oblivious to Isabella's still stunned expression. On one hand, Phineas had found out about her crush and the sky hadn't collapsed. But on the other hand, it was just nothing like how she'd envisioned it so many times. There was no music, no flowers, no magic. She didn't know how to feel.

And just when Isabella thought she couldn't get shocked by anything further, Phineas said miserably:

"I guess I'm just not competent enough for you."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Well, you're a really great person! You're so cute and smart and kind...I even ran the tests to verify it last night! You're amazing, Isabella. It's a scientific fact!"

Isabella had heard these words on her Phineas-land escapades so many times, in so many forms, in so many settings, and she always swooned, every single time. But hearing Phineas say it now barely caused her to blush. She was still recovering from the previous bombshells.

"You deserve someone great, Isabella. But I couldn't even keep you happy and safe for one day!

"I should just stop trying."

* * *

Phineas finished and looked miserably at the ground. It had been a long day. The middle of last night, he had woken up with a bolt, his subconscious finally piecing together the implications of the subtle hint in that evening's activities, and he had leapt out of bed as if he'd been electrocuted. His best friend wanted to marry him some day. How could he go back to sleep knowing something like that?

Phineas thought about everything he knew about love... which didn't take long. So he approached it scientifically. His results were clear - he and Isabella were perfect for each other.

He was a little hurt at first that everybody else already knew about her crush on him and nobody, not even Ferb, had told him, but he quickly realised that there was no time to be mad; he had to start inventing. Everyone was on board: Ferb helped him enthusiastically, going on and on about love; Baljeet relished the challenges; even Candace said she'd keep mom busy so that his inventions wouldn't disappear (and she said something about 'not busting him today' which he didn't understand, so he just rolled with it).

It was nearly dawn when he had started to get tired and he had the great idea of using coffee to stay awake. He drank a cup and, feeling invigorated, drank another, and another... the rest of the day was a blur of strange scenes and inexplicably talking hallucinations.

Ok, in hindsight, it wasn't such a great idea.

Anyway, despite all his efforts, he had failed Isabella. Just today was difficult enough. How could he go on like this? The conclusion was inescapable. He wasn't good enough for her.

Suddenly, he felt Isabella's warm hand on his shoulder. He turned to look at her face and she stared back, directly into her eyes.

"I didn't fall in love with your inventions," she said, smiling. "I fell in love with you!"

"You did?"

"Yeah! It doesn't matter if you don't build loads of crazy inventions for me. I love the way you seize the day! It's fun being involved in all of the crazy projects! And our spontaneous musical numbers are great! I don't want all that to change!"

"Really?"

"Really. And I can take care of myself, you know," she said teasingly.

"Do... do you promise?" he asked hesitantly.

"Fireside Girl pinky promise." she said confidently. "I want things to stay just how they are... with, maybe... the occasional romantic time alone, just the two of us?" she suggested shyly.

Phineas stared at her for a moment, blankly. In reality he was stunned by what Isabella had just said. _Could it really be that simple? I... I can do that!_

Then his face broke into a smile. "Sure, Isabella!" he exclaimed.

Then he laughed and grabbed her hand. "I got it! One day, we'll... We'll have a picnic on a rainbow!"

"Isn't that kind of impossible?"

"I don't think so," he winked.

Isabella felt a tingle down her spine. She recognised its familiar feel, embraced it happily. It was magic, the sparks she thought had died away and become just a memory, a figment of her imagination.

"I'd like that, Phineas," she smiled, clutching his hand more tightly as they looked up at the beautiful sunset.

"I'd like that a lot."

* * *

"And it was all a dream!"

Isabella giggled. "Steve!"

The humanoid machine grinned widely. "Just doing my job, miss!"

Phineas grinned. "Nice 4th wall breaking there, Steve. But you have just reminded me about something important...

"Where's Perry?"

* * *

The semi-aquatic mammal checked the address of the house against the one on the slip of paper in his hand. He took a deep breath and knocked cleanly. A short while later, Caroline opened the door.

Perry offered her the bouquet of flowers that he was holding and she took it. Initially she was surprised. She looked at Perry curiously, seeking confirmation of her thoughts. He nodded, and understanding dawned on her face. Then, smiling, Perry tipped his hat to her, adjusted his jet pack, and flew off, leaving Caroline in the doorway.

She paused, thinking. Her expression still neutral, she then closed the door behind her and went inside, straight towards a little bin with some paper rubbish in it. One particular crumpled piece of paper was what she was after. She took it out of the bin and smoothed it out onto the desk, carefully laying it flat, setting the bouquet down beside it.

It was a photo, a snapshot of a particular moment she remembered well. Her mind was cast back to the previous night.

She had been shopping as usual. Knowing the aisle well, she absent-mindedly reached for the item - it was a jar of garlic - on the shelf, while looking down at her list. But her hand had touched someone else's.

Suddenly, she heard a crash. Somewhat startled, she looked up to see that the shelf with all of the jars had been shaken, sending jars flying everywhere. Not three steps from her was a strange-looking man, surrounded by strange spices and covered in condiments. Caroline covered her mouth, gasping in shock.

"Great," the man muttered angrily. "First my Compost-Inator was thwarted, then I ran out of garlic and had to come all this way just to get some, and then, just as I'm about to grab the jar, I touch the hand of the prettiest woman I've ever seen and fall in love... which causes me to lose my balance and bring an entire shelf of cooking ingredients straight on top of me!"

And that had been the moment she fell in love with Heinz Doofenshmirtz.

The rest of the night was a blur, but Caroline would never forget the moment the picture was taken: it was of the two of them together pulling silly faces at the camera, having been sent to the store jail after having messed around in the destroyed aisle.

She smiled. Still looking fondly at the photo and flowers, she picked up her phone and dialled a number. It rang, and connected.

"Hello, Heinz?"

* * *

**Cut and print. That's a wrap!**

**I admit, this story's plot broke a lot of the guidelines I usually follow when it comes to writing, but I'm glad I wrote it! If you liked it, or have anything to say about it, please review.**

**Take care now!**


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